Postoperative pneumocephalus increases the recurrence rate of chronic subdural hematoma

Publication date: March 2018
Source:Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, Volume 166
Author(s): Chao-guo You, Xue-sheng Zheng
ObjectivesPneumocephalus is a common operative complication of chronic subdural hematoma. This study is to analyze the relationship between postoperative pneumocephalus and the recurrence and surgical outcomes.Patients and MethodsThis is a retrospective case-cohort study, including a pneumocephalus group (n = 46) and a control group (n = 181). Their recurrence rates, CT attenuation values, hospital stay, healing time and the neurological status were recorded and analyzed.ResultsThe pneumocephalus group had a recurrence rate of 32.6%, significantly higher than the control (17.7%). In addition, the pneumocephalus group had a higher rate of postoperative epilepsy (21.7% vs 3.3%), longer hospital stay (11.5 ± 2.8 vs 7.8 ± 1.2 days), longer healing time (10.8 ± 5.4 vs 6.5 ± 2.3 months), and worse neurological scores than the control.ConclusionPneumocephalus increases the recurrence rate of chronic subdural hematoma, and it not only prolongs the hospital stay and healing time, but also leads to deterioration of the neurological status.



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